Modern motor vehicles include a variety of shaped panels manufactured of a variety of materials which are assembled to form the vehicle body. For structural and safety reasons, certain of the panels such as body panels are typically fabricated of metal or other similarly durable material. Other panels are often fabricated of rigid or semi-rigid plastics or other less durable materials, to provide savings in cost, weight, etc.
However, because of the differences in durability of the plastics materials comprising most vehicle fascia and the metals comprising most vehicle body panels such as fenders, during assembly damage to the plastic panel can occur. For example, motor vehicle plastic fascia and metal panels that will adjoin one to the other after assembly are fabricated to have matching mating surfaces, with a particular tolerance defined for the seam created between those mating surfaces. However, any deviation from a perfect mating surface can create a mismatch. As the plastic fascia panel is secured to the metal panel, any such mismatch may cause the plastic panel to deform as axial clamping force is applied to secure the plastic panel to the metal panel, damaging the plastic panel.
Incorporating a gap or seam of greater width (increased tolerance) between the plastic panel and the metal panel on assembly might partially solve the problem of damage to the plastic panel during assembly, but would create aesthetic concerns and at least a perception of reduced quality of manufacture. Moreover, such a wider gap or seam would allow increased play between the plastic panel and the metal panel as the plastic panel flexes and deforms during motor vehicle use, increasing the risk of damage to the plastic panel post-assembly.
To solve these and other problems, the present disclosure describes a panel attachment joint for a motor vehicle. Advantageously, the disclosed attachment joint provides a simple, robust structure for securing a plastic panel to a metal panel, for example for attaching a plastic fascia panel to a metal vehicle body panel such as a fender. By the disclosed attachment joint, risk of damage to the less durable plastic panel is incurred during the process of securing that plastic panel to the metal panel as the motor vehicle body is assembled. In turn, a tighter tolerance in the seam between the plastic panel and the metal panel is made possible providing a more closely matching mating surface, reducing risk of damage to the plastic panel post-assembly, and providing a more aesthetically pleasing appearance to the seam between the plastic panel and the metal panel.